Terminal unit having function for converting commodity information into bar code and vice versa

• US 6,189,781 B1
• Filed: 11/07/1994
• Issued: 02/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Sato, Miyuki, Enoki, Shigeki, Yoshinaga, Shinichi, Utsumi, Kiyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D.
• Application Number:
  US08/337,222
• Time in Patent Office: 2,297 Days
• Field of Search: 235/383, 235/375, 235/379, 705/14, 705/16, 705/17
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0045 with a code reader for reading of an identifying code of the article to be registered, e.g. barcode reader or radio-frequency identity [RFID] reader
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/145 PLU-management

Abstract

A terminal unit processes commodity information relating to each of one or more commodities involved in a transaction and transaction information defining the transaction. The terminal unit includes a first conversion unit for converting the transaction information for a transaction, including at least the input commodity information for each commodity involved in the transaction, into a corresponding high density bar code pattern which is supplied to a printer which prints the corresponding high density bar code pattern on a recording sheet. A bar code reader optically reads the high density bar code pattern, printed on the recording sheet, and outputs the corresponding transaction and related commodity information for processing by the terminal unit. The bar code reader distinguishes between a first bar code pattern read from the commodity and a second, higher density bar code pattern printed on and read from a recording sheet.

Claims

1. A terminal unit for processing information relating to commodities involved in transactions, the information comprising commodity information identifying the commodities involved in a related transaction and transaction information identifying the related transaction in which the commodities are involved, the terminal unit comprising:

a printer which prints on a recording sheet, selectively, characters which are human readable and bar code patterns which are machine readable in accordance with character print information and bar code print information, respectively, supplied thereto;

input means for inputting commodity information identifying commodities involved in a related transaction and transaction information identifying the related transaction;

conversion means for converting transaction information and input commodity information into corresponding bar code print information defining a corresponding bar code pattern;

first control means for supplying to said printer the commodity information, input by said input means, identifying the commodities involved in a related transaction, and at least a part of the related transaction information, as character print information and for controlling the printer to print the corresponding, commodity and transaction information as human readable characters on a recording sheet; and

second control means for supplying to said printer, bar code print information comprising the commodity information for all commodities involved in a transaction and the related transaction information, as converted by said conversion means to corresponding bar code print information, and for controlling the printer to print the corresponding commodity and transaction information as a machine readable bar code pattern on the recording sheet.

2. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bar code pattern is a two-dimensional high density bar code pattern.

3. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said input commodity information for each commodity involved in a transaction includes at least a unit price of the commodity, an identification code for the commodity and a number of plural commodities of a common type thereof.

4. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein said transaction information related to said input commodity information comprises a total price of all commodities involved in the transaction, an identification code of said terminal unit, a department code for the respective department dealing with each involved commodity, a transaction date and an identification code of an operator of said terminal unit.

5. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

reading means for optically reading and converting the bar code pattern printed on the recording sheet, representing the corresponding transaction information, and for outputting the corresponding transaction information represented by the bar code pattern, the output transaction information being processed by said terminal unit.

6. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 5, wherein the bar code pattern is a high density, two-dimensional bar code pattern.

7. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 6, wherein said reading means further comprises a scanner for optically scanning the high density bar code pattern and for outputting a corresponding data signal, and second conversion means for converting the data signal output by said scanner into the transaction information represented by said optically scanned high density bar code pattern.

8. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

display means for displaying information corresponding to the transaction information output by said reading means.

9. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

correction means for correcting input commodity information using the transaction information output by said reading means.

10. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

aggregating means for aggregating, in accordance with a predetermined rule and for plural transactions, commodity information as to the commodities respectively involved in each of the plural, related transactions of the transaction information which is output by said reading means and producing an aggregated result output.

11. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:

result printing control means for controlling the printer to print the aggregated result output of said aggregating means on the recording sheet.

12. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:

transmission means for transmitting the aggregated result output of said aggregating means to a host unit coupled to said terminal unit.

13. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said terminal unit is a POS terminal which is coupled to a host computer.

14. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the recording sheet comprises a receipt sheet and a journal sheet, the transaction information and the bar code pattern being printed on the receipt paper sheet and a part of the transaction information and the bar code pattern being printed on the journal paper sheet.

15. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the recording sheet comprises a receipt sheet and a journal sheet;

the first control means is operable, further, for selecting and supplying to the said printer all of the commodity information identifying the commodities involved in a related transaction as character print information and for controlling the printer to print same as human readable commodity information print characters on the receipt sheet and for selecting and supplying to said printer a first selected set of transaction information and for controlling the printer to print same as human readable transaction information print characters on the receipt sheet; and

the second control means, is operable, further, for selecting and supplying to said printer bar code print information comprising the commodity information for all commodities involved in a transaction and a second selected set of the related transaction information, as converted by said first conversion means to corresponding bar code print information, and for controlling the printer to print the corresponding bar code pattern on each of the receipt sheet and the journal sheet.

16. A terminal unit for processing information relating to commodities involved in transactions, the information comprising commodity information identifying the commodities involved in a related transaction and transaction information identifying the related transaction in which the commodities are involved, each commodity having a bar code pattern thereon which is machine readable and is of a first type, representing commodity information identifying the commodity, the terminal unit comprising:

a printer which prints on a recording sheet, selectively, characters which are human readable and bar code patterns which are machine readable and are a second type, different from the bar code patterns of the first type, in accordance with character print information and bar code print information, respectively, supplied thereto;

a scanner for selectively, optically scanning bar code patterns of the first type and of the second type and for outputting bar code information corresponding to the respective, scanned bar code patterns;

first control means, responsive to bar code information output by said scanner and corresponding to a first type of bar code pattern, as provided on and identifying a commodity involved in a transaction, for outputting the corresponding commodity information as commodity character print information, for supplying the commodity character print information to said printer and for controlling said printer to print the commodity information as human readable print characters on a recording sheet;

first conversion means for converting commodity information and transaction information, related to the commodity information, into bar code information corresponding to the second type of bar code pattern; and

second control means for supplying the second type of bar code information, corresponding to the second type of bar code pattern, to said printer as bar code print information of the second type and comprising the commodity information for all commodities involved in a transaction and related transaction information, and for controlling said printer to print the corresponding commodity and related transaction information as a bar code pattern of the second type on the recording sheet on which the human readable print character commodity information for the corresponding transaction is printed.

17. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 16, wherein the second type of bar code pattern is a high density, two-dimensional bar code pattern.

18. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 17, wherein said commodity information for each commodity involved in a transaction includes at least a unit price of the commodity, an identification code for the commodity and a number of plural commodities of a common type thereof.

19. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 18, wherein said transaction information related to said commodity information comprises a total price of all commodities involved in the transaction, an identification code of said terminal unit, a department code for the respective department dealing with each involved commodity, a transaction date and an identification code of an operator of said terminal unit.

20. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 16, further comprising:

determination means for determining, based on the information output from said scanner, whether the corresponding bar code pattern scanned by said scanner is the first type of bar code pattern or the second type of bar code pattern and producing a corresponding first and second determination outputs; and

second conversion means, responsive to a first determination output of said determination means, for converting the information output by said scanner into the transaction information represented by said scanned, second type of bar code pattern and outputting same for processing thereof by said terminal unit.

21. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 20, wherein the second type of bar code pattern is a high density, two-dimensional bar code pattern.

22. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 20, further comprising:

display means for displaying information corresponding to the transaction information output by said second conversion means.

23. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 20, further comprising:

correction means for correcting commodity information, which has been processed by said terminal unit, using the transaction information output by said second conversion means.

24. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 20, further comprising:

aggregating means for aggregating, in accordance with a predetermined rule and in relation to plural transactions, commodity information as to the commodities respectively involved in the plural transactions and producing an aggregate result output.

25. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 20, further comprising:

third control means for supplying each aggregate commodity result output of said aggregate means to the printer as corresponding character print information and controlling said printer so as to print the aggregate commodity result in human readable characters on the recording sheet.

26. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 20, further comprising:

transmission means for transmitting the aggregate commodity result output of said aggregate means to a host unit coupled to said terminal unit.

27. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 16, wherein said terminal unit is a POS terminal which is coupled to a host computer.

28. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 16, wherein the recording sheet comprises a receipt sheet and a journal sheet, the transaction information and the bar code pattern being printed on the receipt sheet and a part of the transaction information and the bar code pattern being printed on the journal sheet.

29. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 16, wherein:

the recording sheet comprises a receipt sheet and a journal sheet;

the first control means is operable, further, for selected and supplying to the said printer all of the commodity information identifying the commodities involved in a related transaction as character print information and for controlling the printer to print same as human readable commodity information print characters on the receipt sheet and for selecting and supplying to said printer a first selected set of transaction information and for controlling the printer to print same as human readable transaction information print characters on the receipt sheet; and

the second control means, is operable, further, for selecting and supplying to said printer bar code print information comprising the commodity information for all commodities involved in a transaction and a second selected set of the related transaction information, as converted by said first conversion means to corresponding bar code print information, and for controlling the printer to print the corresponding bar code pattern of the second type on each of the receipt sheet and the journal sheet.

30. A terminal unit for processing information relating to commodities involved in transactions, the information comprising commodity information identifying the commodities involved in a related transaction and transaction information identifying the related transaction in which the commodities are involved, each commodity having a bar code pattern thereon which is machine readable and is of a first type, representing commodity information identifying the commodity, the terminal unit comprising:

a printer which is controllable for printing, selectively on a receipt sheet and on a journal sheet, human readable characters and machine readable bar code patterns of a second type, differing from the first type, in accordance with character print information and bar code print information supplied thereto;

a scanner for selectively, optically scanning bar code patterns of the first type and of the second type and for outputting bar code information corresponding to the respective, scanned bar code patterns;

first control means, responsive to bar code information output by said scanner and corresponding to a first type of bar code pattern provided on and identifying a commodity, for outputting to the printer the corresponding commodity information as commodity character print information and for selecting a first set of the related transaction information and outputting to the printer the selected, first set of related transaction information as corresponding transaction character print information and for controlling said printer to print the corresponding commodity information and the selected, first set of related transaction information as human readable print characters on a receipt sheet;

conversion means for converting transaction information and commodity information into corresponding transaction and commodity bar code information of a second type of bar code pattern, of a higher density than the first type of bar code pattern; and

second control means for selecting and supplying to said printer, bar code print information of the second type, as output by said first conversion means and corresponding to the commodity information for all commodities involved in a transaction and a second set of selected transaction information of the related transaction and for controlling said printer to print, on each of the receipt sheet and journal sheet, the corresponding commodity information and the selected, second set of related transaction information as a bar code pattern of the second type, for each transaction and the respective commodities involved therein.

31. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 30, wherein said commodity information selected by the first control means for printing as corresponding human readable characters on the receipt sheet comprises at least a commodity name and a unit price of the commodity.

32. The terminal unit as claimed in claim 30, wherein the transaction information selected by the first control means for printing in human readable characters on the receipt sheet for each transaction comprises at least one of the date and the time of the transaction and the total price of all commodities involved in the related transaction.